Thursday, September 04, 2008

Motown Mayor Pleads Guilty, Resigns

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty to felony charges in Wayne County Circuit Court. He will be forced to resign immediately.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two obstruction of justice felony charges.

In addition to his resignation, the Mayor will serve 120 days in jail, serve 5 years probation, pay one million dollars restitution, surrender his pension, surrender his law license and may not seek office for 5 years.

His sentencing is scheduled for October 28th.

The Mayor also pleaded no contest to assault charges as part of a settlement agreement under the conditions that he must resign. The second count in the case will be dismissed.

The Mayor entered Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner's court room this morning at about 9:10 shaking hands and doling out hugs.

The mayor turned to Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff and shook her hand. That was just moments before his wife, Carlita, walked into the courtroom.

The court was packed with Kilpatrick's team of lawyers and public relations staff.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy was present along with assistant prosecutors. Worthy charged the mayor and Beatty with several felonies, including perjury and obstruction of justice.

Special Assistant Attorney General Douglas Baker was in attendance on behalf of Attorney General Mike Cox, who charged the mayor with assault and obstruction.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick addressed the court admitting that he "lied under oath."

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two obstruction of justice felony charges.

In addition to his resignation, the Mayor will serve 120 days in jail, serve 5 years probation, pay one million dollars restitution, surrender his pension, surrender his law license and may not seek office for 5 years.

The Mayor also pleaded no contest to assault charges as part of a settlement agreement under the conditions that he must resign. The second count in the case will be dismissed.

With Kwame Kilpatrick set to resign as Mayor, Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. will step into the city's top job. The city clerk’s office has prepared paperwork to allow for the transition of power between Kilpatrick and Cockrel.

A Detroit police officer has also delivered paperwork to Cockrel’s office to enable the setting up of an executive protection unit for the new mayor. Cockrel is still trying to determine the effective date of Kilpatrick's resignation and is speaking with city council lawyers about their interpretation of the plea agreement.

Cockrel says he is ready to become mayor, and that he is already putting together a potential staff. While he hasn't named any specific people, Cockrel says he will most likely name a new chief of staff and deputy mayor. Kandia Milton currently holds both of those position.

There are currently close to 160 mayoral appointee position in the city government. However, Cockrel says that not all of Kilpatrick's appointees and aides will have to leave their positions. But Cockrel has said, "There are some people who would definitely have to quit."

Though she said, “I’m glad he resigned,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation was never a bargaining chip.

For the prosecutor, the most critical parts of the plea deal were jail time and restitution. Worthy called both, “Critically important.”

Worthy said the mayor took responsibility for himself, "finally."

"We did not give an inch," the prosecutor said.

"These were not the mayor's conditions," Worthy said. " This has been our deal all along."

The mayor's resignation will be effective in 14 days. But some in his administration are already leaving like Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully Cummings who resigned today, according to a statement issued this morning.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's former Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty, was is in court briefly to face a judge in her criminal case.

Her attorney, Mayor Morganroth asked for a Sept. 11 docket conference. Her case wil continue. That confernce date is exactly one year after a jury awarded police officers 6.5 million dollars in the whistle blower case.

So far, there has been no word of any plea negotiations in her case. Action News spoke with Attorney Morganroth on September 3. He said her perjury case may be headed to trial.

Morganroth said he is not involved in any plea negotiations for his client.

Earlier in the day on September 3, Beatty refused to answer several questions during a deposition, citing her 5th amendment rights against self incrimination. She arrived at Morganroth's office about 10 minutes late for a 10:00 a.m. deposition case in a Freedom of Information lawsuit, brought by the Detroit Free Press. The paper is seeking details about the $8.4 million settlement in the whistle blower lawsuit.

Action News has learned that Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings announced her retirement to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick earlier this week.

Chief Bully-Cummings’ retirement is effective immediately. She has agreed to assist her successor to help stabilize the transition of leadership within the Detroit Police Department if she is requested to do so.